Revue Salutes Black Performers

December 20, 1985|The New York Times

NEW YORK — The spirits of a star-studded gallery of black entertainers will arrive on Broadway next month with a musical revue called Uptown . . . It`s Hot, a celebration of the contributions of artists ranging from Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner.

Directed and choreographed by Maurice Hines, who stars in the show, Uptown has its roots in Hines` own family history. Several years ago, he began spending time with his grandmother -- one of the original Cotton Club showgirls -- to cheer her up after her sister died. ``We would talk about when they were young girls, and all the wonderful people they knew -- Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters, Florence Mills,`` recalls Hines.

His mind on that historical legacy, Hines was shocked to discover that many of his contemporaries ``didn`t know who these people were -- the ones who paid these heavy racial dues and made it all possible for us, as black performers.``

Uptown is to arrive at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater Jan. 18, with the official opening set for Jan. 28.